Prince Philip Has Resigned From A Very Important Role – And Now He’s Passed The Duty On To Harry

Furthermore, WWII veteran Harry Hargreaves would explain that the prince had been somewhat of a hero during his service. Specifically, Hargreaves told the BBC in 2003 that Philip had come up with the idea of placing a decoy raft into the water during a bombing raid in 1943. He did this, it’s said, in order to save HMS Wallace from the German guns.

And Hargreaves would later tell The Observer, “Prince Philip saved our lives that night.” He added, “I suppose there might have been a few survivors, but certainly the ship would have been sunk. He was always very courageous and resourceful and thought very quickly. You would say to yourself, ‘What the hell are we going to do now?’ and Philip would come up with something.”

Philip then moved ships to HMS Whelp, which sat in Tokyo Bay at the time that the Japanese signed the 1945 surrender notice that ended World War II. The following year, Philip would ask King George VI for the hand of his daughter in marriage. And after all parties agreed to the match, the wedding of Philip and Elizabeth took place on November 20, 1947.